.......idle jottings

[Jim Avery]

Sounds like dinner was quite an adventure ho-hum:eek:

 

My maternal grandfather was an admiral in the US Navy and taught me to always look at the horizon (not the water at the horizon but just above) and to breathe in the fresh ocean air when the seas get angry. It has worked for me on boats and ships of all sizes. I also find that a Bombay Sapphire and Tonic (diet for me please) also helps;)

 

OMG, The Admiral's Daughter.! Saw the movie.

[CDreamer]

(Ho hum, breaking your post apart here....)

 

"He (Captain) instructs the crew to tie down all equipment, goods etc.. Lets hope this instruction extends to miserable woman ! Tie her up and gag her, ho hum says !"

 

Hysterical! Best humor, even in the worse of times!

 

"The sea swells were 5-6.0 metres and the side winds creates a force 8 gale (so informed by Captain the next day) so the motion was side to side; very odd."

 

:eek: Those aren't just occasional large swells. Aren't these strong sea conditions fairly unusual for this time of year?

 

"Waves crash over our window on deck 3 ! All objects ended up on the floor. Fell out of bed three times !"

 

Yikes. We usually stay on deck 3 - have rocked and rolled (weather!!) but in 9+ cruises have never, ever seen waves come anywhere near that level of the ship.

 

"....one passenger wanted to discuss anomalies in his interim bill to a petrified and green gilled young lady at Concierge !

 

Takes all kinds... :rolleyes:

 

Thanks again Ho Hum....enjoy following along on your daily reports.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Ho-hum, please send some of those swells our way in Southern California, Lake Pacific is living up to its name. (When are we going to get you on a surfboard?)

 

Today's surf report:(

 

"Aloha, this is Jonathan with your South Orange County Forecast effective Sunday afternoon.

Forecast Outlook:

MONDAY: Small mix of holding SW groundswell and easing NW windswell will show all day. The better exposed breaks to either swell will offer surf around the knee-waist high zone (1-3').

 

WEATHER/WIND: Light/variable wind in the early morning (good chance for a light SE veering South eddy wind in the morning), before SW veering WSW flow gradually rises up through the mid to late morning and over the afternoon, becoming moderate+. Expect a marine layer along the coast in the early morning, then clearing up through the day and becoming sunny."

 

 

And send some sun our way while you are at it:

[ho-hum]

Thanks to everyone concerned about ho hum's loss of hearing.

As well as surviving a storm at sea.

Oh and falling from a great height from his bed.

 

What no one ?

Oh well, ho hum

 

No, it's too late now. Off to sulk for a while. Well you certainly know who your friends are......in this case, no one.

[ho-hum]

(Ho hum, breaking your post apart here....)

 

"He (Captain) instructs the crew to tie down all equipment, goods etc.. Lets hope this instruction extends to miserable woman ! Tie her up and gag her, ho hum says !"

 

Hysterical! Best humor, even in the worse of times!

 

"The sea swells were 5-6.0 metres and the side winds creates a force 8 gale (so informed by Captain the next day) so the motion was side to side; very odd."

 

:eek: Those aren't just occasional large swells. Aren't these strong sea conditions fairly unusual for this time of year?

 

"Waves crash over our window on deck 3 ! All objects ended up on the floor. Fell out of bed three times !"

 

Yikes. We usually stay on deck 3 - have rocked and rolled (weather!!) but in 9+ cruises have never, ever seen waves come anywhere near that level of the ship.

 

"....one passenger wanted to discuss anomalies in his interim bill to a petrified and green gilled young lady at Concierge !

 

Takes all kinds... :rolleyes:

 

Thanks again Ho Hum....enjoy following along on your daily reports.

 

 

Portholes on deck 2 were closed in the early evening.

Maybe that goes to demonstrate the concern of the Captain not wishing his guests to be alarmed to see an underwater world !

The swells coming in from the side created this effect.

As ho hum would repeat, he has never seen anything like it.

 

Glad ho hum's posts raise a titter or two for you.

[Jim Avery]

Quite the adventure Ho-Hum! I am sure most of us on this board have never seen them put the deadlights over the portholes. Just think of the sea stories you will have to tell when Ganttc, ctbrjr, and all the rest show up on Gilligans Isle Sept. 20.:D

[ho-hum]

Quite the adventure Ho-Hum! I am sure most of us on this board have never seen them put the deadlights over the portholes. Just think of the sea stories you will have to tell when Ganttc, ctbrjr, and all the rest show up on Gilligans Isle Sept. 20.:D

 

You forgot the pirates Jim !

 

Single handedly ho hum fought them off whilst also conducting a tutored tasting of Corton-Charlemagnes.

 

OK, ho hum made that up, they were Chassagne-Montrachets.

Talking of Chassagne-Montrachets, time for a night cap.

Mmmm Laphroaig Quarter Cask peut-tetre. Fine choice ho hum. Fine choice. As always. As always old chap. Toodle-pip.

[DisneyJen]

You forgot the pirates Jim !

 

Single handedly ho hum fought them off whilst also conducting a tutored tasting of Corton-Charlemagnes.

 

OK, ho hum made that up, they were Chassagne-Montrachets.

Talking of Chassagne-Montrachets, time for a night cap.

Mmmm Laphroaig Quarter Cask peut-tetre. Fine choice ho hum. Fine choice. As always. As always old chap. Toodle-pip.

 

Cheers ho-him!

 

So strange to think of those portholes covered:eek:

[ho-hum]

The cabin is trashed (no, Pete Moon from The Who is not sharing our cabin).

We arise late because every time the ship really rolled it would wake ho hum up as he tried to prevent himself falling out of bed, which he did most of the time.

Breakfast is in the Main Salon as the sea is still rough.

We listen to accounts of how crew and passengers managed last night.

It was a similar account throughout of a lack of sleep and cabins trashed.

By 11.0am the sea is a lot calmer as we approach Mahon, Minorca.

A most charming rambling entrance and harbour with a mixture of houses either side with larger modern developments too but all low rise and painted harmoniously with their older neighbours.

 

We stroll around the beautiful streets, a giant passenger ship is moored in the centre of the town and dwarfs surrounding buildings just thirty feet away.

We climb steps up to the old town. It is delightful but sadly no class restaurants to be found. Cafes, bars, tapas even but their fare seems to incorporate just fried seafood, farmhouse cheeses and charcuterie.

 

We bump into other passengers on similar quests but most are returning to the ship for a late lunch.

We have a bottle of Provencal rose and a variety of pates that were provided for cocktails last night. Not really appropriate for cocktails but for lunch, superb.

 

We retire for a nap to compensate for the lack of sleep last night.

 

Doctor says ears are slowly improving and he talks of his beloved Montenegro and the relief that last night is over and that no serious injuries occurred. Ho hum likes this man and will request dinner with him if he is on the next voyage ho hum is on (which is September out of Athens).

 

A beautiful evening onboard. Dinner with our Glaswegian friends tonight. Degustation dinner.

Few passengers at the TOYB tonight: the disturbed sleep of last night has taken its toll.

[ho-hum]

Sounds like dinner was quite an adventure ho-hum:eek:

 

My maternal grandfather was an admiral in the US Navy and taught me to always look at the horizon (not the water at the horizon but just above) and to breathe in the fresh ocean air when the seas get angry. It has worked for me on boats and ships of all sizes. I also find that a Bombay Sapphire and Tonic (diet for me please) also helps;)

 

 

DJ shoots and scores yet again !

Thanks for that piece of information.

Very useful indeed.

How have we survived without your knowledge and experience for such a long time.

[ho-hum]

Cheers ho-him!

 

So strange to think of those portholes covered:eek:

 

Quite claustrophobic eh ? And a bit scary t'boot. Protecting you from the monster sea outside.

[ho-hum]

Ho-hum, please send some of those swells our way in Southern California, Lake Pacific is living up to its name. (When are we going to get you on a surfboard?)

 

Today's surf report:(

 

"Aloha, this is Jonathan with your South Orange County Forecast effective Sunday afternoon.

Forecast Outlook:

MONDAY: Small mix of holding SW groundswell and easing NW windswell will show all day. The better exposed breaks to either swell will offer surf around the knee-waist high zone (1-3').

 

WEATHER/WIND: Light/variable wind in the early morning (good chance for a light SE veering South eddy wind in the morning), before SW veering WSW flow gradually rises up through the mid to late morning and over the afternoon, becoming moderate+. Expect a marine layer along the coast in the early morning, then clearing up through the day and becoming sunny."

 

 

And send some sun our way while you are at it:

 

Wahaaay !

Now dont look to ho hum to help you out.

He would obviously need help from "'im upstairs" and just between us, he has'nt been picking up ho hums beseeching for years now.

Maybe it was suggesting where he went wrong on a few things.

Mainly ho hum gets the answerphone "aint home right now, leave a message".

Very abrupt from someone supposed to be all loving.

But when ho hum does get through its "oh god, it's you again, what do you want this time".

Ho hum recites the list and is answered by a recorded message "unfortunately you have been un-successful this time but please try again later. Go in peace and multiply"

 

Get ho hum on a surf board !!!

Ha !

No way, the closest ho hum ever got to a surf board was watching "Hawaii Five-O"

If only we had a recording facility in them days to see a slo-mo of the hula hula shaking !

Best bit. Akarumba !

 

Thankyou for the very detailed weather forecast.....perhaps you could also send a video of paint drying too for even more excitement.

 

And now you want sun !

Well you aint 'avin ours matey boy !

Anyway our sun only goes up to 59 deg.F: more than enough for us Brits.

Can't Jim let you have some sun. Last time we chatted he was reaching over 100deg.F !!

Sheer greed, ho hum calls it.

 

The photo looks beautiful. What a view.

Well nice chatting "dude".

All the best (hope you dont mind the leg pulling. Actually the highest accolade a Brit can give to another. Feel free to do the same but bear in mind ho hum's ego is a tad delicate due to the lack of concern regarding his ears, storm etc..)

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Don't worry, I thrive on abuse, its the reason I've stayed married all these years....

 

Was very surprised by 15-20ft swells in the Med in the summer. While the entire Pacific ocean can only muster ankle-biters. Perhaps our resident mariner Jim can explain the fetch that generates such swells. Siroccos?

 

This thread IS titled "idle jottings" :rolleyes:

Edited July 15, 2014 by Ragnar Danneskjold

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

PS - Since everyone is sending you hither and yon for all sorts of things, here is a recommended surf school in Barcelona for your post-cruise enjoyment!

 

http://pukassurf.com/schools/pukas-surf-eskola-barcelona/

[abenaki]

Oh all right, if thats what it takes for you to stop you banging on, how is your ear? How Is Your Ear, I said HOW IS YOUR EAR?

 

Clearly not very much improved. Are you sure you want to get on an airplane like that mon ami?

[commander courageous]

Well Ho-Hum, your writings remind me of an old Shelly Winters/Red Buttons

movie circa 1972, though with a less dramatic ending.

 

I can just envision you both being jostled about the cabin ... you unbalanced (in

more ways than one) because of an inner ear infection and Blondie after a night

"on the town", trying to remain upright in the face of mounting seas. You poor

dears!

 

I am assuming you have now arrived in calmer waters and can again resume your

indulgent shipboard lives, you lucky dogs. If your experience is a portent of

what we can expect on the crossing or the Caribbean, can we blame it all on the

polar vortex? Can't wait till October, in the meantime stay well AND DRY.

 

 

 

[DisneyJen]

Perhaps the sea monsters were having a disco night causing the huge swells:confused: Perhaps if your ears were 100 percent you would have heard the music:p

 

Glad to hear that you, Blondie as well as the other guests and crew weathered the seas without injury!

 

Thanks for the on-the-scene reporting. Hopefully you are now well rested and able to enjoy the day.

[ho-hum]

PS - Since everyone is sending you hither and yon for all sorts of things, here is a recommended surf school in Barcelona for your post-cruise enjoyment!

 

http://pukassurf.com/schools/pukas-surf-eskola-barcelona/

 

Please Ragnar, ho hum is passed all that kind of stuff.

Ho hum is a lost cause to all things requiring physical exercise (well not all come to think of it but ho hum will not be sharing that with you, young man !)

Ho hum's TV remote control broke a while ago: that was exercise enough !

It's amazing if you keep on the same channel long enough, something comes along.

 

And the surf school's name "puke" ! The English equivalent of your "Barf" ho hum believes ! And you want to send ho hum there !

 

Ho hum is now very sorry for "pulling your leg". Had he known that your revenge was drowning off the coast of Barcelona then he would never have said those terrible things. Which he now most earnestly retracts.

Mea culpe, mea culpe, mean maxima culpe.

Now, if it is good enough for "'im upstairs" then it should be good enough for you, old chap. Kapiche.

 

Nice chatting Ragnar.

[ho-hum]

Oh all right, if thats what it takes for you to stop you banging on, how is your ear? How Is Your Ear, I said HOW IS YOUR EAR?

 

Clearly not very much improved. Are you sure you want to get on an airplane like that mon ami?

 

It's way too late for all that stuff abenaki.

Way too late.

"Banging on" ! "Banging on" ! moi ?

Your truly deep concern is most touching (yeah right. CC mode).

 

Oh now your concerned, ho hum knows you haven't forgiven ho hum about the ports and the shirts; now ho hum doesn't feel that bad.

 

As you ask so sincerely, ho hum will say the ears got better now they are getting worse. It may come to never hearing your voice ever again. So, it has it's up side. Hhaha

[Jim Avery]

Don't worry, I thrive on abuse, its the reason I've stayed married all these years....

 

Was very surprised by 15-20ft swells in the Med in the summer. While the entire Pacific ocean can only muster ankle-biters. Perhaps our resident mariner Jim can explain the fetch that generates such swells. Siroccos?

 

This thread IS titled "idle jottings" :rolleyes:

 

And I am about as idle as they come. 20' seas, lets see. First it is the wind. The more wind speed the higher the waves. But wait, as you correctly noted fetch is very important in wave generation. Fetch is, briefly, the distance the wind has a chance to blow over the water. The longer the fetch, the higher the waves. But then water depth comes into play too, especially in relatively shallow seas like the Med. The shallower the water, the steeper and closer together the waves. Especially when the swells come from deep water and pile up on near coastal underwater shelves. But wait, there is more. Any currents can affect the wave height. Swells heading into current will become steeper and higher waves than those heading with the current. Then there is "confusion". When swells come from more than one direction (quite common) it is called a confused sea. Where they collide produces some of the worst wave conditions. Two or more swells of a certain height will produce sudden waves of significantly more height than the original waves and they can toss a ship in several planes at once. This phenomenon produces what are sometimes called "Rogue Waves". Pitch, roll, and yaw all happening simultaneously can make the saltiest sailors queasy. Finally, and probably most important Mr. Hum, you probably were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. :eek::D

[Jim Avery]

Well Ho-Hum, your writings remind me of an old Shelly Winters/Red Buttons

movie circa 1972, though with a less dramatic ending.

 

I can just envision you both being jostled about the cabin ... you unbalanced (in

more ways than one) because of an inner ear infection and Blondie after a night

"on the town", trying to remain upright in the face of mounting seas. You poor

dears!

 

I am assuming you have now arrived in calmer waters and can again resume your

indulgent shipboard lives, you lucky dogs. If your experience is a portent of

what we can expect on the crossing or the Caribbean, can we blame it all on the

polar vortex? Can't wait till October, in the meantime stay well AND DRY.

 

 

 

 

And the scene with Shelly Winters swimming underwater with bloomers fluttering in her wake really should have ended on the cutting room floor.:eek::eek:

[Jim Avery]

Wahaaay !

Now dont look to ho hum to help you out.

He would obviously need help from "'im upstairs" and just between us, he has'nt been picking up ho hums beseeching for years now.

Maybe it was suggesting where he went wrong on a few things.

Mainly ho hum gets the answerphone "aint home right now, leave a message".

Very abrupt from someone supposed to be all loving.

But when ho hum does get through its "oh god, it's you again, what do you want this time".

Ho hum recites the list and is answered by a recorded message "unfortunately you have been un-successful this time but please try again later. Go in peace and multiply"

 

Get ho hum on a surf board !!!

Ha !

No way, the closest ho hum ever got to a surf board was watching "Hawaii Five-O"

If only we had a recording facility in them days to see a slo-mo of the hula hula shaking !

Best bit. Akarumba !

 

Thankyou for the very detailed weather forecast.....perhaps you could also send a video of paint drying too for even more excitement.

 

And now you want sun !

Well you aint 'avin ours matey boy !

Anyway our sun only goes up to 59 deg.F: more than enough for us Brits.

Can't Jim let you have some sun. Last time we chatted he was reaching over 100deg.F !!

Sheer greed, ho hum calls it.

 

The photo looks beautiful. What a view.

Well nice chatting "dude".

All the best (hope you dont mind the leg pulling. Actually the highest accolade a Brit can give to another. Feel free to do the same but bear in mind ho hum's ego is a tad delicate due to the lack of concern regarding his ears, storm etc..)

 

Actually we are a bit short on sun the last few days. It is technically the "Monsoon" here in the desert. Yesterday we had almost 1/4" of rain. It made the front page of the paper. Quite funny really as we had up to 10" per day some times in Florida. It is all what you get used to. From an annual average of 74" of rain, we now live with an annual average of 8".:eek::D

[DisneyJen]

And I am about as idle as they come. 20' seas, lets see. First it is the wind. The more wind speed the higher the waves. But wait, as you correctly noted fetch is very important in wave generation. Fetch is, briefly, the distance the wind has a chance to blow over the water. The longer the fetch, the higher the waves. But then water depth comes into play too, especially in relatively shallow seas like the Med. The shallower the water, the steeper and closer together the waves. Especially when the swells come from deep water and pile up on near coastal underwater shelves. But wait, there is more. Any currents can affect the wave height. Swells heading into current will become steeper and higher waves than those heading with the current. Then there is "confusion". When swells come from more than one direction (quite common) it is called a confused sea. Where they collide produces some of the worst wave conditions. Two or more swells of a certain height will produce sudden waves of significantly more height than the original waves and they can toss a ship in several planes at once. This phenomenon produces what are sometimes called "Rogue Waves". Pitch, roll, and yaw all happening simultaneously can make the saltiest sailors queasy. Finally, and probably most important Mr. Hum, you probably were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. :eek::D

 

Thanks for the technical info Jim! Perhaps SD should have you as a guest lecturer on a crossing:D

 

Loved the Shelly Winters' reference. DJ's DH loves that movie!

[Jim Avery]

Thanks for the technical info Jim! Perhaps SD should have you as a guest lecturer on a crossing:D

 

Loved the Shelly Winters' reference. DJ's DH loves that movie!

 

I would perform any way they wished for a free voyage (for 2).:eek: I always liked that movie as well. Probably because it was partly filmed aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach and I sailed on her as a kid. Wierdly enough, we used to watch that movie prior to Transatlantic voyages. Since Titanic with Leonardo and Kate, that has become our pre Transatlantic movie. After all, you need to know what to do in case........:eek:

[ho-hum]

And I am about as idle as they come. 20' seas, lets see. First it is the wind. The more wind speed the higher the waves. But wait, as you correctly noted fetch is very important in wave generation. Fetch is, briefly, the distance the wind has a chance to blow over the water. The longer the fetch, the higher the waves. But then water depth comes into play too, especially in relatively shallow seas like the Med. The shallower the water, the steeper and closer together the waves. Especially when the swells come from deep water and pile up on near coastal underwater shelves. But wait, there is more. Any currents can affect the wave height. Swells heading into current will become steeper and higher waves than those heading with the current. Then there is "confusion". When swells come from more than one direction (quite common) it is called a confused sea. Where they collide produces some of the worst wave conditions. Two or more swells of a certain height will produce sudden waves of significantly more height than the original waves and they can toss a ship in several planes at once. This phenomenon produces what are sometimes called "Rogue Waves". Pitch, roll, and yaw all happening simultaneously can make the saltiest sailors queasy. Finally, and probably most important Mr. Hum, you probably were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. :eek::D

 

Wrong place, wrong time. Story of ho hum's life 'ceptin meeting blondie.